Welcome to B-Line Tire & Auto Supply Ltd.
Here at B-Line, we specialize in Tire supplies, Shop Equipment and Automotive/Carwash supplies. We have fully stocked warehoueses throughout Western Canada to serve you better. B-Line is proud to offer superior quality products, outstanding customer service provided by knowledgeable staff.
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Mike Bolduc
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B-Line Tire & Auto Supply: Staying Ahead by Offering More
Training and Support Are as Important as Product Sales
When your company faces serious competition, the way to stay ahead is to offer your customers something extra. Mike Bolduc, president of B-Line Tire & Auto Supply Limited, takes advantage of his extensive network of distributors to ensure that shops receive parts, supplies, and training whenever they’re in need.
From his branches in Alberta and British Columbia, and his distributors in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Bolduc’s company provides tire repair and installation supplies, equipment, and parts.
“I was a salesman, selling tire repair parts, and I went into business for myself in 1985,” he says. “I thought the idea of being self-employed was exciting and it seemed like a real challenge. A fellow had a Bowes franchise and he was retiring and selling his business, and we were able to strike a deal.”
Growing gradually
The business grew gradually, and for the first year, Bolduc worked alone. His first employee was his brother Marc, who is still a sales representative for B-Line. “There’s a lot of family,” Bolduc says. “I work with my wife Debbie, who does the accounting, and my sons Mitchell and Maxwell work part-time. We’re working on getting the next generation taking over.”
The company now has 28 employees between its two branches, and Bolduc says that staff turnover is low. “With most of our people, once they’re with us, we call them ‘lifers’,” he laughs. “We work in a partnership environment and we’re very team-oriented.”
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Marc Bolduc, Mike Bolduc, Tayller Bolduc and, on the forklift, Richard Dowling
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Distributors are an advantage
B-Line’s network of distributors is one of its main advantages, Bolduc says. The company has gradually built up about 4,000 part numbers and carries about $2 million in inventory. “Because we’ve been in the business for a long time, we’re able to manage our inventory very carefully, and a lot of that just comes from experience,” he says. “We know what products to stock more of, which to stock less, and we try to keep a good variety of items. With a lot of items, we try to stock one of each so that if somebody’s in a bind and you have a shop in a serious panic for something, we like to have it on the shelf so we have it right away.
“Collectively, we have a lot of buying power and we can source specialized products. If someone needs a hard to find item, between the different branches we have, someone will have it. Everybody helps each other out when it comes to sourcing. If one branch is out of a product, we can get it shipped from another branch or directly to the customer, to get him looked after quickly. Typically, our competitors wouldn’t stock nearly the inventory levels that we have. They might have one or two branches across Canada, while we have several branches in western Canada with our associates, and we can draw on each others’ inventory and get that product much quicker.”
Sales are up year on year
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Ken Kreklau
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It’s important to take challenging economic times seriously, he says, but sales this year have been up over last year, and those were up from the year before. “We’ve managed to stay quite busy, and we would attribute that to pretty aggressive sales reps who work very hard to out-service our competitors and earn the business wherever they can. We also have to be very competitive price-wise, and we can get our procurement costs as low as possible through volume buying.”
But B-Line doesn’t just sell parts; it’s also about training, both at the company level and among its customers. Working with the Tire Industry Association and with vendors such as TECH, B-Line has held several training seminars on tire repair for its sales reps, who are then able to train their customers when they’re on call at the shops. A classroom in the St. Albert location is used to train customers hands-on with TPMS, wheel service, mounting, and specialized items such as low-profile or run-flat tires.
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Sean Curran
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Providing training to customers
“We think it provides a much-needed service out there,” Bolduc says. “Staff turnover [at customer shops] is higher than it used to be, and we’re finding a real need for training through our salespeople in the field. We provide the service to customers, and most times, at no charge.”
Given that the tire industry has become very specialized, Bolduc has dedicated certain people at his branch to specific requirements. “I have two guys at this branch and their key area of responsibility is TPMS,” he says. “They’re the go-to guys for this, and if any of the other salespeople have any questions, they’ll go to them. By having people focus in a specific area, we can stay on the leading edge of that area, and have someone right up to date on it. I think that’s very important.
Matching equipment to customer needs
“Years ago, when I first started, all the tire machines were basically the same, and you just went and bought one. Now you can have several types that do specific work, and you really have to ask questions and find out exactly what the customer needs, and try to match up his needs to the machine that will work best for his application.”
It’s unfortunate, Bolduc says, that some companies will import equipment from Europe or Asia, but without service support or an inventory of parts for it. “It’s frustrating for these shops that buy it and when it’s down, they’re really stuck with a machine that doesn’t work,” he says. “When we sell a product, we do our best to stand behind it, even if the customer’s needs change. We had a shop that bought a very expensive machine for doing custom low-profile tires and high-end aftermarket. The counterman was doing all that, and when he left, the business changed from high-end stuff to basic truck, and the owner was stuck with this machine. We were able to sell the machine for him, trade that off, and get him into the proper piece of equipment for his shop. He said that nobody else would have done that for him, but we made sure he got looked after.”
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Isaac White
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One-stop shopping
Getting parts to the customer quickly is essential, and B-Line carries much of its popular inventory on its fleet of trucks, without the need to return to the warehouse for items most likely to be required.
“If you’re dealing with us, you don’t have to buy your patches from one vendor and your equipment from another, and have someone else for servicing,” Bolduc says. “If you’re dealing with B-Line, you can deal with one source for all.”